New from Central Ohio

Just taking a second to introduce myself to the forum since I'm new here. I've played golf since age 4-5, competitively as a junior from 9-18 after which I got burnt out and all but hung it up after my senior year. Over the next 8yrs I played once or twice a summer until last year I got back into it. I'm 27 now and my goal this year is to have my first 18 hole round under par. I've had numerous sub par 9 hole rounds over the years but I could never put two good ones together. By the end of last year I was consistently shooting 2-4 over par on 18.

My current sticks are pretty much what was hot in 2003, minus my driver:

913 D3 8.5 w/ diamana72 75g x stiff set down 1* and draw 1 notch.

980F 3 wood, stiff shaft, steel, I think it's an S300

2-7 iron Ping i3+ blades, stiff, 1" long, 4* upright

8-pw same, 3/4" long, 3* upright

54 and 58* M/B's, 3/4" long, 3* upright.

and lastly a SC Studio Stainless Newport.

I just ordered a X2 Hot 9* with the Aldila Tour Green X stiff, +1" to try out. Mainly looking for something longer and still controllable for when I play in scrambles. I'd really like to buy a long drive only driver but I'm not ready to invest that kind of money into something that isn't practical to use on the course. Might be in the market for a new 3 wood, too.

Wedges are next to be addressed. I have a gap in yardage from 145-105 with my pw and 54*. I'm gonna try to get the 54* bent to 50*, the 58* bent to 60*, then pull the 2 iron and toss in a 56* I have. I understand the difficulty in bending heat treated cast irons so if it can't be done I'll be in the market for new ones.

Driving distance on the course is normally in the 280-310 range swinging conservatively. I hit several 350+ last year when "going for it" and managed to get on in 2 on a 645yd hole we made up. I'm 6'3", 205lbs, workout 4-6 days a week. My swing speeds on two different simulators were 115 and 130mph. I tend to hit a lot of 3/4 irons so I'm not sure on exact distances. 2iron is normally 220-230, 5iron is 200ish, 7iron around 180 and so on.

Anyways, looking forward to getting back into golf even more and learning more about what the current trends in golf are.